JetBlue Founder Will Start New Airlines With No Competition

JetBlue founder David Neeleman will start a new airline. The new carrier isn’t expected to start flying until 2021, but it could be a groundbreaking business model in the aviation business. Neeleman’s planned carrier will use a fleet of single-aisle Airbus A220-300s. The planned airline is currently using the name Moxy, but he said that is likely to change before it starts operating.

“I doubt we’ll have a single route that has any competition,” Neeleman was quoted as saying to a private corporate group in New York He said the new carrier will operate on international as well as domestic routes, focusing on secondary airports and city pairs that currently have no non-stop service.

SFgate reports that in addition to domestic city pairs that have no non-stop airline service, the new company could fly from cities in the northeastern U.S. to Europe, staying away from existing hubs; and that it will operate from Florida to South America where it will link up with the route network of Brazilian carrier Azul, which Neeleman started 10 years ago.

Another innovation will be in customer service. The new airline will save on labor costs both in customer service and at the airport by relying on non-verbal processes. “You won’t be able to speak with us” on the phone, Neeleman said, but passengers will be able to chat with customer service staff through their phones, and airline reps may place a return voice call to a customer back to resolve an issue.

He said flight bookings, changes, and even ordering meals will all be done through an app, and flight check-ins at the airport will be done through the passenger’s phone. “I don’t think people want to stand in line to talk to someone,” he said.